PlayStation Network: Spend $50 In Next Month, Get $10 Back

October is fast approaching and, with the PlayStation 4 on the way a month later, it looks like Sony is pulling out more than a few stops to draw more folks to the PlayStation Network ecosystem. For instance: Every $50 you spend on PSN next month will get you $10 to spend on the service in return.

I suppose you could (kind of) look at this promotion as a way to get yourself geared up for the launch of Sony's next home console. Spend, say, $200 on your PlayStation 3 in October and, by the time the PlayStation 4 launches, you will a crisp 40 digital dollars sitting in your Sony bank account, ready to spent on all of those launch day games.

Okay, so maybe that's just ridiculous. But I checked thrice and the math is correct, so at least the whole bit about getting $10 for ever $50 you spend in the next month is legit. The official announcement went live this afternoon, explaining that the promotion is good from right this very second through Oct. 29. So if anything of interest to you went live in today's PlayStation Network update, then you can start earning toward those cash back rewards right this very second.

Keep in mind that this promotion is valid with any content you purchase through the Sony Entertainment Network, be it games, DLC, television episodes, movies, whatever. Also, there's a cap of $100, meaning that if you plan on spending more than $1,000 on Sony's
consoles next month, you won't be getting more than $100 in return. Also, what the hell, man! Do you really have $1,000 to spend on games in a single month?! And if so, can we be friends?

Anyway, come Nov. 8, you should receive a message via PSN informing you of how much virtual cash back you'll be receiving. If you're anything like me, you can refer to this period as “the time of great gamer guilt.” Last time Sony had a promotion like this I was shocked to see how much virtual currency I had received in return, thus inadvertently how much money I had accidentally spent on games over the course of just four weeks.

Also, remember that any money you spend on a PlayStation Plus subscription or pre-orders also counts towards this total. In other words, you could plop down $50 for a year's subscription to Plus and get $10 back come November. Or maybe there's a game coming out in November that you're able to pre-order in late October. Do that, and you're good to go on another $10 in return. This adds a massive incentive for gamers to pre-order, pre-purchase and basically stick with buying PlayStation products leading up to the holiday season, which is something Sony is probably counting on... big time.

And with that, I'm off to do some budgeting and hide my credit cards from myself. Happy shopping!